Coil component, circuit board, and electronic device

ABSTRACT

A coil component according to one or more embodiments includes a base body having first to sixth surfaces, and a coil conductor including a winding portion that extends around a coil axis intersecting the first and second surfaces. The winding portion includes first, second, third, and fourth portions facing the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth surfaces, respectively when viewed from a direction of the coil axis. The radii of curvature of the first and second portions are both smaller than the radii of curvature of the third and fourth portions. When viewed from the direction of the coil axis, a distance between the first portion and the third surface is larger than a distance between the third portion and the fifth surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/186,994 (filed on Feb. 26, 2021), which claims the benefit ofpriority from Japanese Patent Application Serial No. 2020-034495 (filedon Feb. 29, 2020), the contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a coil component, a circuit board, andan electronic device.

BACKGROUND

Various coil components are used in electronic devices. A conventionalcoil component typically includes a magnetic base body formed of amagnetic material, an external electrode provided on a surface of themagnetic base body, and a coil conductor extending around a coil axis inthe magnetic base body.

One example of coil components is an inductor. An inductor is a passiveelement used in an electronic circuit. For example, an inductoreliminates noise in a power source line or a signal line. A conventionalinductor is disclosed by Japanese Patent Application Publication No.2018-101732.

Magnetic fluxes that are generated when current running through the coilconductor changes penetrating through a region between a winding portionand end and side surfaces of the base body. If the external dimensionsof the base body are made small in order to reduce the whole size ofsuch a conventional coil component, it is not possible to secure asufficient area for the magnetic fluxes penetrating between the coilconductor in the base body and the surface of the base body, which maydegrade the inductance. Whereas if the distance between the coilconductor and the surface of the base body is increased in a uniformmanner in order to improve the inductance, the external dimensions ofthe base body is increased, which is not desirable.

SUMMARY

One object of the invention disclosed herein is to solve or alleviatethe above drawback of the conventional coil component. Morespecifically, one object of the invention disclosed herein is to providea compact coil component while preventing degradation of its inductance.Other objects of the invention disclosed herein will be apparent withreference to the entire description in this specification. The inventiondisclosed herein may solve any other drawbacks grasped from thefollowing description instead of or in addition to the above drawback.

A coil component according to one or more aspects of the inventionincludes: a base body made of a magnetic material and having a firstsurface that extends in a first direction and a second directionorthogonal to the first direction and has a first dimension in the firstdirection larger than a second dimension in the second direction, asecond surface that faces the first surface, a third surface thatconnects an end of the first surface in the first direction and an endof the second surface in the first direction, a fourth surface thatfaces the third surface, a fifth surface that connects the third surfaceand the fourth surface, and a sixth surface that faces the fifthsurface; a coil conductor including a winding portion that extendsaround a coil axis intersecting the first surface and the secondsurface; a first external electrode disposed on the base body andconnected to one end of the coil conductor; and a second externalelectrode disposed on the base body and connected to the other end ofthe coil conductor. In the above coil component, when viewed from adirection of the coil axis, the winding portion includes a first portionthat faces the third surface and is curved toward the third surface, asecond portion that faces the fourth surface and is curved toward thefourth surface, a third portion that connects the first portion and thesecond portion and faces the fifth surface, and a fourth portion thatconnects the first portion and the second portion and faces the sixthsurface. The radii of curvature of the first portion and the secondportion are both smaller than the radii of curvature of the thirdportion and the fourth portion. When viewed from the direction of thecoil axis, a distance between the first portion and the third surface islarger than a distance between the third portion and the fifth surface.

In the above coil component, the distance between the first portion andthe third surface and the distance between the second portion and thefourth surface may be both in a range of 1.5 to 10 times the distancebetween the third portion and the fifth surface and the distance betweenthe fourth portion and the sixth surface.

In the above coil component, when viewed from the direction of the coilaxis, the distance between the first portion of the winding portion andthe third surface may be substantially same as the distance between thesecond portion of the winding portion and the fourth surface.

In the above coil component, when viewed from the direction of the coilaxis, the distance between the third portion of the winding portion andthe fifth surface may be substantially same as the distance between thefourth portion of the winding portion and the sixth surface.

In the above coil component, the winding portion may have a uniformcross-sectional area.

In the above coil component, the first external electrode may beconnected to one end of the winding portion via a first lead-out portionextending along the coil axis.

In the above coil component, the second external electrode may beconnected to the other end of the winding portion via a second lead-outportion extending along the coil axis.

In the above coil component, a proportion of an area of the windingportion to an area of the first surface when viewed from the directionof the coil axis may be 0.3 or more.

According to another aspect of the invention, the coil component is usedin a DC-to-DC converter. Yet another aspect of the invention relates toa DC-to-DC converter including the above coil component.

A circuit board according to one aspect of the invention includes: theabove coil component; and a mount substrate soldered to the externalelectrode.

An electronic device according to one embodiment of the presentinvention includes the above circuit board.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS

As discussed above, according to the one or more aspects of theinvention, it is possible to provide the coil components having areduced size while preventing degradation of inductance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a coil componentaccording to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the coil component shown in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a relationship between a ratio of an endmargin E to a side margin S and an inductance calculated by simulation.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing a coil componentaccording to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of the coil component shown in FIG. 4 .

FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically showing a coil componentaccording to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing a coil component ofFIG. 6 .

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of the coil component shown in FIG. 6 .

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments of the present invention will be hereinafterdescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referencecharacters designating corresponding components are repeated asnecessary throughout the drawings for the sake of consistency andclarity. For convenience of explanation, the drawings are notnecessarily drawn to scale.

A coil component 1 according to one embodiment of the invention will behereinafter described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 . FIG. 1 is aschematic perspective view of the coil component 1, and FIG. 2 is aschematic plan view of the coil component 1. FIG. 2 illustrates amagnetic base body 10 and a coil conductor 25 in a plan view (viewedfrom a coil axis Ax direction described later), the periphery of thecoil component is made transparent to show them therein in FIG. 2 . Inthe illustrated embodiment, the coil component 1 is a planar coil havinga coil conductor wound several or more times in a plane. The coilcomponent 1 includes the magnetic base body 10, the coil conductor 25provided in the magnetic base body 10, an external electrode 21 disposedon the surface of the magnetic base body 10, and an external electrode22 disposed on the surface of the magnetic base body 10 at a positionspaced apart from the external electrode 21.

In this specification, a “length” direction, a “width” direction, and a“height” direction of the coil component 1 correspond to the “L axis”direction, the “W axis” direction, and the “T axis” direction in FIG. 1, respectively, unless otherwise construed from the context.

The coil component 1 is mounted on a mount substrate 2. A circuit boardaccording to one embodiment includes the coil component 1 and the mountsubstrate on which the coil component 1 is mounted. In FIG. 1 , themount substrate is not shown. The mount substrate has two land portionsand the coil component 1 is mounted on the mount substrate 2 by bondingthe external electrodes 21, 22 to the corresponding land portions 3 ofthe mount substrate 2. The circuit board can be installed in variouselectronic devices. Electronic devices in which the circuit board 2 maybe installed include smartphones, tablets, game consoles, electricalcomponents of automobiles, and various other electronic devices.

The coil component 1 may be applied to inductors, transformers, filters,reactors, and various other coil components. The coil component 1 mayalso be applied to coupled inductors, choke coils, and various othermagnetically coupled coil components. The coil component 1 may be, forexample, an inductor used in a DC/DC converter. Applications of the coilcomponent 1 are not limited to those explicitly described herein.

In one embodiment, the base body 10 is made mainly of a magneticmaterial and formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.The term “rectangular parallelepiped” or “rectangular parallelepipedshape” used herein is not intended to mean solely “rectangularparallelepiped” in a mathematically strict sense. The base body 10 has afirst principal surface 10 a, a second principal surface 10 b, a firstend surface 10 c, a second end surface 10 d, a first side surface 10 e,and a second side surface 10 f. These six surfaces define the outerperiphery of the base body 10. The first principal surface 10 a and thesecond principal surface 10 b are at the opposite ends in the heightdirection, the first end surface 10 c and the second end surface 10 dare at the opposite ends in the length direction, and the first sidesurface 10 e and the second side surface 10 f are at the opposite endsin the width direction. The first principal surface 10 a opposes thesecond principal surface 10 b, the first end surface 10 c opposes thesecond end surface 10 d, and the first side surface 10 e opposes thesecond side surface 10 f. The first end surface 10 c connects an end ofthe first principal surface 10 a situated in a positive direction of theL axis and an end of the second principal surface 10 b in the positivedirection of the L axis. The first principal surface 10 a, the secondprincipal surface 10 b, the first end surface 10 c, the second endsurface 10 d, the first side surface 10 e, and the second side surface10 f are an example of a first surface, a second surface, a thirdsurface, a fourth surface, a fifth surface, and a sixth surface,respectively described in the claims.

In one embodiment, the first principal surface 10 a extends in the Laxis direction and the W axis direction. In one embodiment, a dimensionL1 of the first principal surface 10 a in the L axis direction is largerthan a dimension W1 in the W axis direction. In one embodiment, the basebody 10 has a length (the dimension in the L axis direction) of 1.0 to4.5 mm, a width (the dimension in the W axis direction) of 0.5 to 3.2mm, and a height (the dimension in the T axis direction) of 0.5 to 5.0mm. The dimensions of the base body 10 are not limited to thosespecified herein.

In one embodiment, the magnetic base body 10 is made of a compositemagnetic material containing a plurality of metal magnetic particles anda binder. The metal magnetic particles may be a particle mixtureobtained mixing together two or more types of metal magnetic particleshaving different average particle sizes. When the metal magneticparticles include large-diameter metal magnetic particles andsmall-diameter metal magnetic particles, the average particle size ofthe large-diameter metal magnetic particles is, for example, 10 μm, andthe average particle size of the small-diameter metal magnetic particlesis, for example, 1 μm. The binder binds the plurality of metal magneticparticles to each other. The binder is, for example, a thermosettingresin having a high insulating property. The magnetic base body 10 maybe a compact in which the metal magnetic particles are bonded to eachother without using the binder. The metal magnetic particles can beformed of various soft magnetic materials. For example, a mainingredient of the metal magnetic particles is Fe. Specifically, themetal magnetic particles are particles of (1) a metal such as Fe or Ni,(2) a crystalline alloy such as a Fe—Si—Cr alloy, an Fe—Si—Al alloy, oran Fe—Ni alloy, (3) an amorphous alloy such as an Fe—Si—Cr—B—C alloy oran Fe—Si—Cr—B alloy, or (4) a mixture thereof. The composition of themetal magnetic particles contained in the magnetic base body 10 is notlimited to those described above. An insulating film made of glass,resin, or any other material having excellent insulating properties maybe provided on the surface of each metal magnetic particle.

The coil conductor 25 includes a winding portion 25 a wound around thecoil axis Ax extending along the thickness direction (T-axis direction),a lead-out portion 25 b 1 that connects one end of the winding portion25 a to the external electrode 21, and a lead-out portion 25 b 2 thatconnects the other end of the winding portion 25 a to the externalelectrode 22. In the illustrated embodiment, the coil axis Ax intersectsthe first principal surface 10 a and the second principal surface 10 b,but does not intersect the first end surface 10 c, the second endsurface 10 d, the first side surface 10 e, and the second side surface10 f. In other words, the first end surface 10 c, the second end surface10 d, the first side surface 10 e, and the second side surface 10 fextend in the direction along the coil axis Ax. In one embodiment, thecoil axis Ax passes through the intersection of two diagonal lines ofthe base body 10 when the base body 10 is viewed in plan.

In the illustrated embodiment, the winding portion 25 a is wound aroundthe coil axis Ax for a plurality of turns in a plane extending along anLW plane. In the illustrated embodiment, the winding portion 25 a has asubstantially oval shape. The shape of the winding portion 25 a is notlimited to one shown. The winding portion 25 a may have, for example, anelliptical shape. In one embodiment, the winding portion 25 a has auniform cross-sectional area cut in a direction perpendicular to thedirection in which the current flows.

In one embodiment, the winding portion 25 a has a first portion 25 a 1facing the first end surface 10 c, a second portion 25 a 2 facing thesecond end surface 10 d, a third portion 25 a 3 facing the first sidesurface 10 e, and a fourth portion 25 a 4 facing the second side surface10 f in a plan view (that is, when viewed from the direction of the coilaxis Ax).

In the illustrated embodiment, the first portion 25 a 1 in a first turnof the winding counted from the lead-out portion 25 b 1 extendscounterclockwise from one end to the other end of the first portion, andis connected to the lead-out portion 25 b 1 at its one end. The thirdportion 25 a 3 in the first turn of the winding extends counterclockwisefrom one end to the other end of the third portion, and its one end isconnected to the other end of the first portion 25 a 1 in the firstturn. The second portion 25 a 2 in the first turn of the winding extendscounterclockwise from one end to the other end of the second portion,and its one end is connected to the other end of the third portion 25 a3 in the first turn. The fourth portion 25 a 4 in the first turn of thewinding extends counterclockwise from one end to the other end of thefourth portion, and its one end is connected to the other end of thesecond portion 25 a 2 in the first turn. The first portion 25 a 1 in asecond turn of the winding extends counterclockwise from one end to theother end of the first portion, and its one end is connected to thefourth portion 25 a 4 in the first turn. In the same manner, the windingportion 25 a extends and is wound until its end is connected to thelead-out portion 25 b 2. The third portion 25 a 3 and the fourth portion25 a 4 connect the first portion 25 a 1 and the second portion 25 a 2,respectively.

In one embodiment, as shown in the drawing, the first portion 25 a 1 hasa curved surface 26 that is convexly curved toward the first end surface10 c and faces the first end surface 10 c. In one embodiment, as shownin the drawing, the second portion 25 a 2 has a curved surface 27 thatis convexly curved toward the second end surface 10 d and faces thesecond end surface 10 d. The curved surface 26 of the first portion 25 a1 and the curved surface 27 of the second portion 25 a 2 may have thesame or substantially the same radius of curvature. When a differencebetween the curvature radius of the curved surface 26 of the firstportion 25 a 1 and the curvature radius of the curved surface 27 of thesecond portion 25 a 2 is 10% or less of the curvature radius of thecurved surface 26 of the first portion 25 a 1, it can be said that thecurvature radii of them are substantially the same.

In one embodiment, as shown in the drawing, the third portion 25 a 3 hasa planar surface 28 that extends parallel to the first side surface 10 eand faces the first side surface 10 e. The planar surface 28 may occupythe entire or a part of the surface of the third portion 25 a 3 thatfaces the first side surface 10 e. The surface of the third portion 25 a3 facing the first side surface 10 e may be a composite surface in whichthe planar surface 28 and the curved surface are connected. In oneembodiment, the surface of the third portion 25 a 3 facing the firstside surface 10 e may be a curved surface that curves convexly towardthe first side surface 10 e.

In one embodiment, as shown in the drawing, the fourth portion 25 a 4has a planar surface 29 that extends parallel to the second side surface10 f and faces the second side surface 10 f. Similarly to the thirdportion 25 a 3, the planar surface 29 may occupy the entire or a part ofthe surface of the fourth portion 25 a 4 that faces the second sidesurface 10 f. The surface of the fourth portion 25 a 4 facing the secondside surface 10 f may be a composite surface in which the planar surface29 and the curved surface are connected. In one embodiment, the surfaceof the fourth portion 25 a 4 facing the second side surface 10 f may bea curved surface that curves convexly toward the second side surface 10f.

In one embodiment, the radius of curvature of the first portion 25 a 1is smaller than the radius of curvature of the third portion 25 a 3 andthe fourth portion 25 a 4. In a more specific embodiment, the curvatureradius of the curved surface 26 of the first portion 25 a 1 is smallerthan the curvature radius of the surface of the third portion 25 a 3that faces the first side surface 10 e and the radius of curvature ofthe surface of the fourth portion 25 a 4 that faces the second sidesurface 10 f. In one embodiment, the radius of curvature of the secondportion 25 a 2 is smaller than the radius of curvature of the thirdportion 25 a 3 and the fourth portion 25 a 4. In a more specificembodiment, the curvature radius of the curved surface 27 of the secondportion 25 a 2 is smaller than the curvature radius of the surface ofthe third portion 25 a 3 that faces the first side surface 10 e and theradius of curvature of the surface of the fourth portion 25 a 4 thatfaces the second side surface 10 f. When the radius of curvature of thefirst portion 25 a 1 is not constant, the average of the curvature radiiat each of a plurality of points (for example, three or five points)evenly distributed around the coil axis Ax in the first portion 25 a 1may be defined as the radius of curvature of the first portion 25 a 1,or the maximum value among the curvature radii of the first portion 25 a1 may be defined as the radius of curvature of the first portion 25 a 1.When the radii of curvature of the second portion 25 a 2, the thirdportion 25 a 3, and the fourth portion 25 a 4 are not constant, theradius of curvature of the second portion 25 a 2, the third portion 25 a3 and the fourth portion 25 a 4 can be respectively determined in thesame manner as the above case where the radius of curvature of the firstportion 25 a 1 is not constant.

In one embodiment, the first portion 25 a 1 includes an intersection P1of a perpendicular line drawn from the coil axis Ax to the first endsurface 10 c and the outermost turn of the winding portion 25 a. In oneembodiment, the second portion 25 a 2 includes an intersection P2 of aperpendicular line drawn from the coil axis Ax to the second end surface10 d and the outermost turn of the winding portion 25 a. In oneembodiment, the third portion 25 a 3 includes an intersection P3 of aperpendicular line drawn from the coil axis Ax to the first side surface10 e and the outermost turn of the winding portion 25 a. In oneembodiment, the fourth portion 25 a 4 includes an intersection P4 of aperpendicular line drawn from the coil axis Ax to the second sidesurface 10 f and the outermost turn of the winding portion 25 a.

Boundaries between adjacent portions of the first portion 25 a 1, thesecond portion 25 a 2, the third portion 25 a 3, and the fourth portion25 a 4 can be defined, for example, as follows. When viewed from thedirection of the coil axis Ax, virtual lines connecting the coil axis Axand the four corners of the base body 10 are drawn, and these fourvirtual lines may be defined as the boundary lines between the adjacentportions of the first portion 25 a 1, the second portion 25 a 2, thethird portion 25 a 3, and the fourth portion 25 a 4. For example, avirtual line connecting the upper left corner of the base body 10 withthe coil axis Ax from the viewpoint of FIG. 2 may be defined as theboundary line between the first portion 25 a 1 and the fourth portion 25a 4. Similarly, from the viewpoint of FIG. 2 , virtual lines connectingbetween the upper right corner, the lower right corner, and the lowerleft corner of the base body 10 with the coil axis Ax may be defined asthe boundary line between the fourth portion 25 a 4 and the secondportion 25 a 2, the boundary line between the second portion 25 a 2 andthe third portion 25 a 3, and the boundary line between the thirdportion 25 a 3 and the first portion 25 a 1, respectively.

In one embodiment, a first end margin E1 representing the distancebetween the first portion 25 a 1 of the winding portion 25 a and thefirst end surface 10 c of the base body 10 is larger than a first sidemargin S1 representing the distance the distance between the thirdportion 25 a 3 of the winding portion 25 a and the first side surface 10e of the base body 10, and a second side margin S2 representing thedistance between the fourth portion 25 a 4 of the winding portion 25 aand the second side surface 10 f of the base body 10. In one embodiment,a second end margin E2 representing the distance between the secondportion 25 a 2 of the winding portion 25 a and the second end surface 10d of the base body 10 is larger than any of the first side margin S1 andthe second side margin S2. In one embodiment, the end margin E1 and theend margin E2 are both in the range of 1.5 to 10 times the side marginS1 and the side margin S2.

In one embodiment, the first end margin E1 and the second end margin E2may be the same or substantially the same. When a difference between thefirst end margin E1 and the second end margin E2 is 10% or less of thefirst end margin E1, it can be considered that the first end margin E1and the second end margin E2 are substantially the same.

In one embodiment, the first side margin S1 and the second side marginS2 may be the same or substantially the same. When a difference betweenthe first side margin S1 and the second side margin S2 is 10% or less ofthe first side margin S1, it can be considered that the first sidemargin S1 and the second side margin S2 are substantially the same.

As shown, in one embodiment, the lead-out portion 25 b 1 extends alongthe coil axis Ax. In one embodiment, the lead-out portion 25 b 2 extendsalong the coil axis Ax. If the area occupied by the lead-out portion inthe cross section perpendicular to the coil axis Ax becomes too large,the inductance of the coil component 1 may deteriorate because thelead-out portion obstructs the passage of magnetic flux. According tothe illustrated embodiment, since one end of the winding portion 25 aand the external electrode 21 are coupled to each other via the lead-outportion 25 b 1 extending along the coil axis Ax, it is possible toprevent degradation of inductance due to the lead-out portion thatconnects the one end of the winding portion 25 a and the externalelectrode 21. Further, according to the illustrated embodiment, sincethe other end of the winding portion 25 a and the external electrode 22are coupled to each other via the lead-out portion 25 b 2 extendingalong the coil axis Ax, it is possible to prevent degradation ofinductance due to the lead-out portion that connects the other end ofthe winding portion 25 a and the external electrode 22.

In one embodiment, the ratio of the area of the winding portion 25 a tothe area of the first principal surface 10 a viewed from the directionof the coil axis Ax is 0.3 or more. When the shape of the firstprincipal surface 10 a viewed from the direction of the coil axis Ax isrectangular, the dimension in the L-axis direction is L1 and thedimension in the W-axis direction is W1, so that the area S1 of thefirst principal surface 10 a is represented as S1=L1×W1. When the areaof the winding portion 25 a viewed from the direction of the coil axisAx is S2, S2/S1 is 0.3 or more in one embodiment. There is a demand forcoil components that allow a large current to run therethrough whilekeeping the coil components small in their external dimensions. In orderto realize such a coil component, the sectional area of its coilconductor is likely to be increased. As the sectional area of the coilconductor is increased, the area S2 of the winding portion 25 a viewedfrom the direction of the coil axis Ax is also increased. In particular,when S2 is increased as much as S2/S1 becomes 0.3 or more and if theside margin and the end margin are the same, a sufficient area throughwhich the magnetic flux passes cannot be secured, and the inductance maybe deteriorated. Thus, when S2/S1 is 0.3 or more, it is effective tooptimize the ratio of the side margin to the end margin and design thecoil conductor such that a sufficient area for the magnetic flux issecured. When S2/S1 is less than 0.3, a sufficient area through whichthe magnetic flux passes is secured even if the side margin and the endmargin are the same. Therefore the inductance will not be deterioratedso much that it will not become a practical problem.

An example of manufacturing method of the coil component 1 according toone embodiment of the invention will now be described. The followingdescribes an example of the manufacturing method of the coil component 1using a compression molding process. To begin with, metal magneticparticles are prepared. An insulating film may be provided on surfacesof the metal magnetic particles as necessary. The metal magneticparticles may be a particle mixture obtained by mixing together twotypes of metal magnetic particles having different average particlesizes. The prepared metal magnetic particles, a resin material, and adiluting solvent are then mixed to prepare a composite magneticmaterial. Subsequently, the coil conductor 25 prepared in advance isplaced in a molding die, and a molding pressure is applied thereto at atemperature of, for example, 50 to 150° C., and then further heated 150to 400° C. for curing. In this way, the magnetic base body 10 includingthe coil conductor 25 thereinside can be obtained. The coil conductor 25is configured and arranged such that the first end margin E1 and thesecond end margin E2 are larger than any of the first side margin S1 andthe second side margin S2 when viewed from the direction of the coilaxis Ax.

The heat treatment for obtaining the magnetic base body 10 may beperformed in two steps as described above or in one step. When the heattreatment is performed in one step, molding and curing are performedduring the heat treatment. In the base body 10, the resin contained inthe composite magnetic material is cured and serves as the binder. Thebase body 10 may be warm molded at a temperature of, for example, around80° C. The molding pressure for molding is, for example, 50 to 200 MPa.The molding pressure can be appropriately adjusted to obtain a desiredfilling factor. The molding pressure is, for example, 100 MPa.

Next, a conductor paste is applied to a surface of the magnetic basebody 10, which is produced in the above-described manner, to form theexternal electrodes 21 and 22. The external electrode 21 is electricallyconnected to one end of the coil conductor 25 inside the magnetic basebody 10, and the external electrode 22 is electrically connected to theother end of the coil conductor 25 inside the magnetic base body 10. Thecoil component 1 is obtained, as described above.

The coil component 1 manufactured is mounted on the mount substrate 2 bya reflow process. In this process, the mount substrate having the coilcomponent 1 provided thereon passes at a high speed through a reflowfurnace heated to, for example, a peak temperature of 260° C., and thenthe external electrodes 21, 22 are soldered to the corresponding landportions 3 of the mount substrate. In this way, the coil component 1 ismounted on the mount substrate, and thus the circuit board ismanufactured.

Next, a description is given of inductor characteristics of the coilcomponent 1 in one embodiment. For a simulation of inductorcharacteristics, four evaluation models (evaluation models #1 to #4)were created. Each of the valuation models #1 to #4 is a model of thecoil component 1. Each of the evaluation models #1 to #4 has arectangular parallelepiped base body corresponding to the base body 10,a conductor corresponding to the coil conductor 25, and two electrodescorresponding to the external electrodes 21 and 22. The length dimension(dimension in the L-axis direction) of the base body was 2.0 mm, thewidth dimension (dimension in the W-axis direction) was 1.2 mm, and theheight dimension (dimension in the T-axis direction) was 1.2 mm. In eachevaluation model, the conductor corresponding to the coil conductor 25is wound around a coil axis corresponding to the coil axis Ax by 10.5turns. In the evaluation model #1, the distance from the conductor tothe surface of the base body when viewed from the direction of the coilaxis was set to 0.25 mm. That is, in the evaluation model #1, both theend margin and the side margin were set to 0.25 mm. In each evaluationmodel, when the end margin and the side margin are equal to each other,the end margin (or the side margin) is referred to as a referencemargin. In the evaluation models #2 to #4, the reference margins wereset to 0.2 mm, 0.15 mm, and 0.1 mm, respectively.

For each of the evaluation models #1 to #4 configured as describedabove, the end margin and the side margin are increased or reduced by0.05 mm while maintaining the total of the end margin and the sidemargin at a constant value (twice the reference margin). The inductanceL after changing the end margin and the side margin in this way wascalculated by simulation. The simulation results are shown in FIG. 3 .FIG. 3 is a graph showing the simulation results of the inductance L ofthe evaluation models #1 to #4. The horizontal axis shows the ratio ofthe end margin E to the side margin S on a logarithmic scale, and thevertical axis shows the calculated inductance. In FIG. 3 , for theevaluation model #1 in which the reference margin was set to 0.25 mm,the simulation result of the inductance when the end margin and thereference margin were equal is plotted at the origin (E/S=1) of the Xaxis. To the right of the plot at the origin, the inductance resultedfrom a simulation in which the end margin is increased by 0.05 from thereference margin to 0.30 mm, and the side margin is reduced from thereference margin by 0.05 to 0.20 mm is plotted at X=1.5 (=0.3/0.2) onthe X axis. Other simulation results were calculated in the same manner,and the calculated simulation results are plotted in the graph of FIG. 3. When the end margin or the side margin becomes zero by subtracting0.05 mm, 0.01 was used instead of zero for convenience of calculation.

As shown in the figure, in any case where the reference margin was 0.10to 0.25 mm, it was found that the inductance was improved by increasingthe dimension corresponding to the end margin relative to the sidemargin.

Next, a coil component 101 relating to another embodiment of the presentinvention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 . The coilcomponent 101 is different from the coil component 1 in that it includesa coil conductor wound in a spiral pattern unlike the coil conductor 25a wound a plurality of turns in a plane.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the coil component 101 includes a coilconductor 125 provided in a magnetic base body 110, an externalelectrode 121 provided on the magnetic base body 110, and an externalelectrode 122 provided on the surface of the magnetic base body 110 at aposition spaced apart from the external electrode 121. The magnetic basebody 110 is made of a magnetic material similarly to the magnetic basebody 10.

The coil component 101 may be mounted on a mount substrate 2 a. Themount substrate 2 a has two land portions 3 provided thereon. The coilcomponent 101 is mounted on the mount substrate 2 a by bonding theexternal electrodes 121, 122 to the corresponding land portions 3 of themount substrate 2 a. The circuit board 2 is configured by mounting thecoil component 101 on the mount substrate 2 a. The circuit board 2according to one embodiment includes the coil component 101 and themount substrate 2 a on which the coil component 101 is mounted. Thecircuit board 2 may include any electronic components in addition to thecoil component 101.

The magnetic base body 110 has a substantially rectangularparallelepiped shape. The magnetic base body 110 has a first principalsurface 110 a, a second principal surface 110 b, a first end surface 110c, a second end surface 110 d, a first side surface 110 e, and a secondside surface 110 f. The outer surface of the magnetic base body 110 isdefined by these six surfaces. The first principal surface 110 a and thesecond principal surface 110 b are at the opposite ends in the heightdirection, the first end surface 110 c and the second end surface 110 dare at the opposite ends in the length direction, and the first sidesurface 110 e and the second side surface 110 f are at the opposite endsin the width direction. The description of the magnetic base body 10also applies to the magnetic base body 110 where it is possible.

The coil conductor 125 includes a winding portion 125 a wound around thecoil axis Ax extending along the thickness direction (T-axis direction),a lead-out portion 125 b 1 that connects one end of the winding portion125 a to the external electrode 121, and a lead-out portion 125 b 2 thatconnects the other end of the winding portion 125 a to the externalelectrode 122.

Similarly to the winding portion 25 a, the winding portion 125 aincludes a first portion 125 a 1 facing the first end surface 110 c, asecond portion 125 a 2 facing the second end surface 110 d, a thirdportion 125 a 3 facing the first side surface 110 e, and a fourthportion 125 a 4 facing the second side surface 110 f. In the illustratedembodiment, the fourth portion 125 a 4 in a first turn of the windingcounted from the lead-out portion 125 b 1 extends clockwise from one endto the other end of the fourth portion, and is connected to the lead-outportion 125 b 1 at its one end. The second portion 125 a 2 in the firstturn of the winding extends clockwise from one end to the other end ofthe second portion, and its one end is connected to the other end of thefourth portion 125 a 4 in the first turn. The third portion 125 a 3 inthe first turn of the winding extends clockwise from one end to theother end of the third portion, and its one end is connected to theother end of the second portion 125 a 2 in the first turn. The thirdportion 125 a 1 in the first turn of the winding extends clockwise fromone end to the other end of the first portion, and its one end isconnected to the other end of the third portion 125 a 3 in the firstturn. The third portion 125 a 3 in the second turn of the windingextends clockwise from one end to the other end of the third portion,and its one end is connected to the other end of the first portion 125 a1 in the first turn. In the same manner, the winding portion 125 aextends and is wound until its end is connected to the lead-out portion125 b 2. As described above, the third portion 125 a 3 and the fourthportion 125 a 4 connect the first portion 125 a 1 and the second portion125 a 2, respectively. Boundaries between adjacent portions of the firstportion 125 a 1, the second portion 125 a 2, the third portion 125 a 3,and the fourth portion 125 a 4 can be defined, for example, in the samemanner as the portions of the winding portion 25 a. For example, whenviewed from the direction of the coil axis Ax, virtual lines connectingthe coil axis Ax and the four corners of the base body 110 are drawn,and these four virtual lines may be defined as the boundary linesbetween the adjacent portions of the first portion 125 a 1, the secondportion 125 a 2, the third portion 125 a 3, and the fourth portion 125 a4.

In one embodiment, as shown in the drawing, the first portion 125 a 1has a curved surface 126 that is convexly curved toward the first endsurface 110 c and faces the first end surface 110 c. In one embodiment,as shown in the drawing, the second portion 125 a 2 has a curved surface127 that is convexly curved toward the second end surface 110 d andfaces the second end surface 110 d. In one embodiment, as shown in thedrawing, the third portion 125 a 3 has a curved surface 128 that isconvexly curved toward the first side surface 110 e and faces the firstside surface 110 e. In one embodiment, as shown in the drawing, thefourth portion 125 a 4 has a curved surface 129 that is convexly curvedtoward the second side surface 110 f and faces the second side surface110 f.

In one embodiment, the radius of curvature of the first portion 125 a 1is smaller than the radius of curvature of any of the third portion 125a 3 and the fourth portion 125 a 4. In a more specific embodiment, thecurvature radius of the curved surface 126 of the first portion 125 a 1is smaller than the curvature radius of the curved surface 128 of thethird portion 125 a 3 and the radius of curvature of the curved surface129 of the fourth portion 125 a 4. In one embodiment, the radius ofcurvature of the second portion 125 a 2 is smaller than the radius ofcurvature of any of the third portion 125 a 3 and the fourth portion 125a 4. In a more specific embodiment, the curvature radius of the curvedsurface 127 of the second portion 125 a 2 is smaller than the curvatureradius of the curved surface 128 of the third portion 125 a 3 and theradius of curvature of the curved surface 129 of the fourth portion 125a 4. When the radius of curvature of the first portion 125 a 1 is notconstant, the average of the curvature radii at each of a plurality ofpoints (for example, three or five points) evenly distributed around thecoil axis Ax in the first portion 125 a 1 may be defined as the radiusof curvature of the first portion 125 a 1, or the maximum value amongthe curvature radii of the first portion 125 a 1 may be defined as theradius of curvature of the first portion 125 a 1. When the radii ofcurvature of the second portion 125 a 2, the third portion 125 a 3, andthe fourth portion 125 a 4 are not constant, the radius of curvature ofthe second portion 125 a 2, the third portion 125 a 3 and the fourthportion 125 a 4 can be respectively determined in the same manner as theabove case where the radius of curvature of the first portion 125 a 1 isnot constant.

The arrangement of the winding portion 125 a in the base body 110 of thecoil component 101 is the same as the arrangement of the winding portion25 a in the base body 10 of the coil component 1 described above. In oneembodiment, the first end margin E1 representing the distance betweenthe first portion 125 a 1 of the winding portion 125 a and the first endsurface 110 c of the base body 110 is larger than the first side marginS1 representing the distance the distance between the third portion 125a 3 of the winding portion 125 a and the first side surface 110 e of thebase body 110, and the second side margin S2 representing the distancebetween the fourth portion 125 a 4 of the winding portion 125 a and thesecond side surface 110 f of the base body 110. In one embodiment, thesecond end margin E2 representing the distance between the secondportion 125 a 2 of the winding portion 125 a and the second end surface110 d of the base body 110 is larger than any of the first side marginS1 and the second side margin S2.

The coil component 101 may be manufactured by a compression moldingprocess in the same manner as the coil component 1. The coil component101 manufactured is mounted on the mount substrate 2 by a reflowprocess. In this process, the mount substrate 2 having the coilcomponent 101 provided thereon passes at a high speed through a reflowfurnace heated to, for example, a peak temperature of 260° C., and thenthe external electrodes 121, 122 are soldered to the corresponding landportions 3 of the substrate 2. In this way, the coil component 101 ismounted on the mount substrate, and thus the circuit board 2 ismanufactured.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8 , a description is given of a coilcomponent 201 according to another embodiment of the present invention.The coil component 201 is a laminated coil. As shown, the coil component201 includes a magnetic base body 210, a coil conductor 225 disposed inthe magnetic base body 210, an external electrode 221 disposed on themagnetic base body 210, and an external electrode 222 disposed on themagnetic base body 210 at a position spaced apart from the externalelectrode 221. The magnetic base body 210 is made of a magnetic materialsimilarly to the magnetic base body 10.

The magnetic base body 210 is formed of a magnetic material in arectangular parallelepiped shape. The magnetic base body 210 includes amagnetic layer 220 having a coil 225 embedded therein, an upper coverlayer 218 formed on the upper surface of the magnetic layer 220 and madeof a magnetic material, and a lower cover layer 219 formed on the lowersurface of the magnetic layer 220 and made of a magnetic material. Theupper cover layer 218 includes magnetic films 218 a to 218 d made of amagnetic material, and the lower cover layer 219 includes magnetic films219 a to 219 d made of a magnetic material. The boundary between themagnetic layer 220 and the upper cover layer 218 and the boundarybetween the magnetic layer 220 and the lower cover layer 219 may not beclearly identified depending on the manufacturing method used tofabricate the magnetic base body 10. The magnetic base body 210 isgenerally shaped as a rectangular parallelepiped and has a firstprincipal surface 210 a, a second principal surface 210 b, a first endsurface 210 c, a second end surface 210 d, a first side surface 210 e,and a second side surface 210 f. The outer surface of the magnetic basebody 210 is defined by these six surfaces. The first principal surface210 a and the second principal surface 210 b are at the opposite ends inthe height direction, the first end surface 210 c and the second endsurface 210 d are at the opposite ends in the length direction, and thefirst side surface 210 e and the second side surface 210 f are at theopposite ends in the width direction. The description of the magneticbase body 10 also applies to the magnetic base body 210 where it ispossible.

The magnetic layer 220 includes magnetic films 211 to 214. In themagnetic layer 220, the magnetic films 211, 212, 213, and 214 arestacked in the stated order from the positive side to the negative sidein the T-axis direction. On the respective upper surfaces of themagnetic films 211 to 214, conductor patterns C11 to C14 are formed. Theconductor patterns C11 to C14 are formed by, for example, printing aconductive paste made of a highly conductive metal or alloy via screenprinting. The conductive paste may be made of Ag, Pd, Cu, Al, or analloy thereof.

The magnetic films 211 to 213 are provided with vias V1 to V3,respectively, at a predetermined position therein. The vias V1 to V3 areformed by forming a through-hole at the predetermined position in themagnetic films 211 to 213 so as to extend through the magnetic films 211to 213 in the T axis direction and filling the through-holes with aconductive material. Each of the conductor patterns C11 to C14 iselectrically connected to the respective adjacent conductor patternsthrough the vias V1 to V3. The conductor patterns C11 to C14 connectedin this manner form the spiral coil conductor 225.

As shown in FIG. 7 , the coil conductor 225 includes a winding portion225 a wound around the coil axis Ax extending along the thicknessdirection (T-axis direction), a lead-out portion 225 b 1 that connectsone end of the winding portion 225 a to the external electrode 221, anda lead-out portion 225 b 2 that connects the other end of the windingportion 225 a to the external electrode 222.

Similarly to the winding portion 25 a, the winding portion 225 aincludes a first portion 225 a 1 facing the first end surface 210 c, asecond portion 225 a 2 facing the second end surface 210 d, a thirdportion 225 a 3 facing the first side surface 210 e, and a fourthportion 225 a 4 facing the second side surface 210 f. In the illustratedembodiment, the first portion 225 a 1 in a first turn of the windingextends clockwise from one end to the other end of the first portion,and is connected to the lead-out portion 225 b 1 at its one end. Thefourth portion 225 a 4 in the first turn of the winding extendsclockwise from one end to the other end of the fourth portion, and itsone end is connected to the other end of the first portion 225 a 1 inthe first turn. The second portion 225 a 2 in the first turn of thewinding extends clockwise from one end to the other end of the secondportion, and its one end is connected to the other end of the fourthportion 225 a 4 in the first turn. The third portion 225 a 3 in thefirst turn of the winding extends clockwise from one end to the otherend of the third portion, and its one end is connected to the other endof the second portion 225 a 2. The first portion 225 a 1 in the secondturn of the winding extends clockwise from one end to the other end ofthe first portion, and its one end is connected to the other end of thethird portion 225 a 3 in the first turn. In the same manner, the windingportion 225 a extends and is wound until its end is connected to thelead-out portion 225 b 2. As described above, the third portion 225 a 3and the fourth portion 225 a 4 connect the first portion 225 a 1 and thesecond portion 225 a 2, respectively. Boundaries between adjacentportions of the first portion 225 a 1, the second portion 225 a 2, thethird portion 225 a 3, and the fourth portion 225 a 4 can be defined,for example, in the same manner as the portions of the winding portion25 a. For example, when viewed from the direction of the coil axis Ax,virtual lines connecting the coil axis Ax and the four corners of thebase body 210 are drawn, and these four virtual lines may be defined asthe boundary lines between the adjacent portions of the first portion225 a 1, the second portion 225 a 2, the third portion 225 a 3, and thefourth portion 225 a 4.

In one embodiment, as shown in the drawing, the first portion 225 a 1has a curved surface 226 that is convexly curved toward the first endsurface 210 c and faces the first end surface 210 c. In one embodiment,as shown in the drawing, the second portion 225 a 2 has a curved surface227 that is convexly curved toward the second end surface 210 d andfaces the second end surface 210 d. In one embodiment, as shown in thedrawing, the third portion 225 a 3 has a curved surface 228 that isconvexly curved toward the first side surface 210 e and faces the firstside surface 210 e. In one embodiment, as shown in the drawing, thefourth portion 225 a 4 has a curved surface 229 that is convexly curvedtoward the second side surface 210 f and faces the second side surface210 f.

In one embodiment, the radius of curvature of the first portion 225 a 1is smaller than the radius of curvature of any of the third portion 225a 3 and the fourth portion 225 a 4. In a more specific embodiment, thecurvature radius of the curved surface 226 of the first portion 225 a 1is smaller than the curvature radius of the curved surface 228 of thethird portion 225 a 3 and the radius of curvature of the curved surface229 of the fourth portion 225 a 4. In one embodiment, the radius ofcurvature of the second portion 225 a 2 is smaller than the radius ofcurvature of any of the third portion 225 a 3 and the fourth portion 225a 4. In a more specific embodiment, the curvature radius of the curvedsurface 227 of the second portion 225 a 2 is smaller than the curvatureradius of the curved surface 228 of the third portion 225 a 3 and theradius of curvature of the curved surface 229 of the fourth portion 225a 4. When the radius of curvature of the first portion 225 a 1 is notconstant, the average of the curvature radii at each of a plurality ofpoints (for example, three or five points) evenly distributed around thecoil axis Ax in the first portion 225 a 1 may be defined as the radiusof curvature of the first portion 225 a 1, or the maximum value amongthe curvature radii of the first portion 225 a 1 may be defined as theradius of curvature of the first portion 225 a 1. When the radii ofcurvature of the second portion 225 a 2, the third portion 225 a 3, andthe fourth portion 225 a 4 are not constant, the radius of curvature ofthe second portion 225 a 2, the third portion 225 a 3 and the fourthportion 225 a 4 can be respectively determined in the same manner as theabove case where the radius of curvature of the first portion 225 a 1 isnot constant.

The arrangement of the winding portion 225 a in the base body 210 of thecoil component 201 is the same as the arrangement of the winding portion25 a in the base body 10 of the coil component 1 described above. Forexample, in one embodiment, the first end margin E1 representing thedistance between the first portion 225 a 1 of the winding portion 225 aand the first end surface 210 c of the base body 210 is larger than thefirst side margin S1 representing the distance the distance between thethird portion 225 a 3 of the winding portion 225 a and the first sidesurface 210 e of the base body 210, and the second side margin S2representing the distance between the fourth portion 225 a 4 of thewinding portion 225 a and the second side surface 210 f of the base body210. In one embodiment, the second end margin E2 representing thedistance between the second portion 225 a 2 of the winding portion 225 aand the second end surface 210 d of the base body 210 is larger than anyof the first side margin S1 and the second side margin S2.

Next, a description is given of an example of a manufacturing method ofthe coil component 201. The coil component 201 can be produced by, forexample, a lamination process. An example is hereinafter described ofthe production method of the coil component 201 using the laminationprocess.

To begin with, sheets of a magnetic material are formed, which are to beused as the magnetic films 218 a to 218 d constituting the upper coverlayer 218, the magnetic films 211 to 214 constituting the magnetic layer220, and the magnetic films 219 a to 219 d constituting the lower coverlayer 219. These sheets of a magnetic material are made of a compositemagnetic material containing a binder and a plurality of metal magneticparticles. The magnetic sheets for the coil component 201 can beproduced in the same manner as the magnetic sheets used in themanufacturing process of the coil component 1.

The coil conductor is then provided in the sheets of the magneticmaterial. Specifically, a through-hole is formed in the respectivesheets of the magnetic material, which are to be used as the magneticfilms 211 to 213, at a predetermined position so as to extend throughthe sheets in the direction of the axis T. Following this, a conductivepaste is printed by screen printing on the upper surface of each of thesheets of the magnetic material, which are to be used as the magneticfilms 211 to 214, so that an unfired conductor pattern is formed on eachsheet of the magnetic material. Also, the through-hole formed in eachsheet of the magnetic material is filled with the conductive paste.

Subsequently, the sheets of the magnetic material, which serve as themagnetic films 211 to 214, are stacked to obtain a coil laminated body.The sheets of the magnetic material, which serve as the magnetic films211 to 214, are stacked such that the conductor patterns C11 to C14formed on the respective sheets of the magnetic material are eachelectrically connected to the adjacent conductor patterns through thevias V1 to V3.

Following this, a plurality of sheets of a magnetic material are stackedto form an upper laminated body, which is to be used as the upper coverlayer 218. Similarly, a plurality of sheets of a magnetic material arestacked to form a lower laminated body, which is to be used as the lowercover layer 219.

Next, the lower laminated body, the coil laminated body, and the upperlaminated body are stacked in the stated order in the direction of the Taxis from the negative side to the positive side, and these stackedlaminated bodies are bonded together by thermal compression using apressing machine to produce a main laminated body. Instead of formingthe lower, coil and upper laminated bodies, the main laminated body maybe formed by sequentially stacking all of the sheets of the magneticmaterial prepared in advance and bonding the stacked sheets of themagnetic material collectively by thermal compression.

Next, the body laminate is diced to a desired size using a cutter suchas a dicing machine or a laser processing machine to produce a chiplaminate. Next, the chip laminate is subjected to degreasing, and thechip laminate thus degreased is heat-treated. The end portions of thechip laminate are polished by barrel-polishing or the like, ifnecessary.

Next, a conductive paste is applied to both end portions of the chiplaminate to form the external electrodes 221 and 222. The coil component201 is obtained, as described above.

Advantageous effects of the above embodiments will now be described.Conventional coil components are designed such that the end margin andthe side margin are the same in order to magnetically effectively useeach region of the substrate and to avoid concentration of magnetic fluxin a specific region of the substrate. Further, in the conventional coilcomponent, in order to prevent the winding portion of the coil conductorfrom being exposed from the substrate and to prevent a short circuitbetween the winding portion and external conductive members, a certainmargin is provided between the winding portion and the end and sidesurfaces of the substrate. When the coil component is fabricated by thelaminating process, a printed conductor pattern may deviate from theinitial position, the positions of the magnetic sheets may be misalignedwhen laminating multiple magnetic sheets, and a position to dice maydeviate when pieces are separated from each other in the manufacturingprocess. Since such deviations occur evenly in the length direction(L-axis direction) and the width direction (W-axis direction), in orderto avoid defects caused by such deviation (for example, exposure of thewinding portion), the margins provided between the winding portion andthe surfaces of the base body are set to be the same in the lengthdirection and the width direction. When the coil component is made by acompression molding process using a mold, it is required to have acertain distance between the wall of the mold in which the compositemagnetic material is provided and the winding portion of the coilconductor inserted into the mold. The required distances between thewall of the mold and the winding portion are also set to be the same inthe length direction and the width direction. As described above, theconventional coil components are designed such that the end margin andthe side margin are the same or substantially the same. Whereas the coilconductor may have an oval or elliptical shape when viewed from the coilaxis direction, which is a shape in which the dimension in one directionperpendicular to the coil conductor is larger than the dimension in theother direction perpendicular to the coil conductor. Thus the windingportion of the coil conductor may include a portion having a relativelysmall radius of curvature and a portion having a relatively large radiusof curvature. When the current flowing through the coil conductorchanges, the magnetic flux tends to concentrate around the portionhaving a relatively small radius of curvature rather than the portionhaving a relatively large radius of curvature. In one or moreembodiments of the invention, the winding portions 25 a, 125 a, 225 ainclude the first portions 25 a 1, 125 a 1, 225 a 1 and the secondportions 25 a 2,125 a 2, 225 a 2 respectively that have relatively smallradii of curvature, and the third portions 25 a 3, 125 a 3, 225 a 3 andthe fourth portions 25 a 4, 125 a 4, 225 a 4, respectively that haverelatively large radii of curvature. Therefore, in the base bodies 10,110, 210, magnetic flux tends to concentrate in the region between thefirst portions 25 a 1, 125 a 1, 225 a 1 and the first end surfaces 10 c,110 c, 210 c respectively, and the region between the second portions 25a 2, 125 a 2, 225 a 2 and the second end surfaces 10 d, 110 d, 210 d,respectively.

In one or more embodiments of the invention, the end margin E1, which isthe distance between the first portions 25 a 1, 125 a 1, 225 a 1 of thewinding portions 25 a, 125 a, 225 a and the first end surfaces 10 c, 110c, 210 c, is larger than the side margin S1, which is the distancebetween the third portions 25 a 3, 125 a 3, 225 a 3 and the first sidesurfaces 10 e, 110 e, 210 e, and the side margin S2, which is thedistance from the fourth portions 25 a 4, 125 a 4, 225 a 4. Therefore itis possible to prevent concentration of magnetic flux in the regionbetween the first portions 25 a 1, 125 a 1, 225 a 1 having a relativelysmall radius of curvature in the winding portions 25 a, 125 a, 225 a andthe surfaces of the base bodies 10, 110 and 210. Further, in one or moreembodiments of the invention, the end margin E2, which is the distancebetween the second portions 25 a 2, 125 a 2, 225 a 2 of the windingportions 25 a, 125 a, 225 a and the second end surfaces 10 d, 110 d, 210d, is larger than the side margin S1 and the side margin S2. Thereforeit is possible to prevent concentration of magnetic flux in the regionbetween the second portions 25 a 2, 125 a 2, 225 a 2 having a relativelysmall radius of curvature in the winding portions 25 a, 125 a, 225 a andthe surfaces of the base bodies 10, 110, 210.

Further, in one or more embodiments of the invention, the side marginsS1 and S2 are smaller than the end margins E1 and E2 so that theexternal dimensions of the base body are smaller than those of theconventional coil component in which the side margin and the end marginare equal. In other words, the end margin E1 that contributes to thearea of the region between the first portion 25 a 1, 125 a 1, 225 a 1and the first end surfaces 10 c, 110 c, 210 c, and the end margin E2that contributes to the area of the region between the second portions25 a 2, 125 a 2, 225 a 2 and the second end surfaces 10 d, 110 d, 210 d,where the magnetic flux tends to concentrate, are selectively increasedin order to prevent degradation of inductance without increasing thewidth direction size of the base body 10.

As described above, according to one or more embodiments of theinvention, by making the end margins E1 and E2 larger than the sidemargins S1 and S2, it is possible to prevent concentration of magneticflux in the region between the first portions 25 a 1, 125 a 1, 225 a 1and the first end surfaces 10 c, 110 c, 210 c and the region between thesecond portions 25 a 2, 125 a 2, 225 a 2 and the second end surfaces 10d, 110 d, 210 d, thus it is possible to prevent degradation ofinductance while reducing the external dimensions of the base bodies 10,110, 210. As discussed above, according to the one or more embodiments,it is possible to provide the coil components 1, 101, 201 having areduced size while preventing degradation of inductance.

The dimensions, materials, and arrangements of the constituent elementsdescribed for the above various embodiments are not limited to thoseexplicitly described for the embodiments, and these constituent elementscan be modified to have any dimensions, materials, and arrangementswithin the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, constituentelements not explicitly described herein can also be added to theabove-described embodiments, and it is also possible to omit some of theconstituent elements described for the embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A coil component comprising: a base body made ofa magnetic material and having a first surface that extends in a firstdirection and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction andhas a first dimension in the first direction larger than a seconddimension in the second direction, a second surface that faces the firstsurface, a third surface that connects an end of the first surface inthe first direction and an end of the second surface in the firstdirection, a fourth surface that faces the third surface, a fifthsurface that connects the third surface and the fourth surface, and asixth surface that faces the fifth surface; a coil conductor having awinding portion that extends around a coil axis intersecting the firstsurface and the second surface; a first external electrode disposed onthe base body and connected to one end of the coil conductor; and asecond external electrode disposed on the base body and connected to theother end of the coil conductor, wherein when viewed from a direction ofthe coil axis, the winding portion includes a first portion that facesthe third surface and is curved toward the third surface, a secondportion that faces the fourth surface and is curved toward the fourthsurface, a third portion that connects the first portion and the secondportion and faces the fifth surface, and a fourth portion that connectsthe first portion and the second portion and faces the sixth surface,wherein radii of curvature of the first portion and the second portionare both smaller than radii of curvature of the third portion and thefourth portion, and wherein when viewed from the direction of the coilaxis, a distance between the first portion and the third surface islarger than a distance between the third portion and the fifth surface.2. The coil component of claim 1, wherein the third portion has a planarsurface facing the fifth surface.
 3. The coil component of claim 2,wherein the planar surface of the third portion is parallel to the fifthsurface.
 4. The coil component of claim 1, wherein the first dimensionis between 1.0 to 4.5 mm and the second dimension is between 1.0 to 4.5mm.
 5. The coil component of claim 1, wherein the first dimension isbetween 1.0 to 4.5 mm and the second dimension is between 0.5 to 3.2 mm.6. The coil component of claim 1, wherein the base body includes aplurality of metal magnetic particles.
 7. The coil component of claim 6,wherein the plurality of magnetic particles is a mixture of first metalmagnetic particles and a second metal magnetic particles, a firstaverage particle size of the first metal magnetic particles being largerthan a second average particle size of the second metal magneticparticles.
 8. The coil component of claim 6, wherein the plurality ofmagnetic particles contains Fe.
 9. The coil component of claim 1,wherein the plurality of magnetic particles further contains Si.
 10. Thecoil component of claim 1, wherein the distance between the firstportion and the third surface and the distance between the secondportion and the fourth surface are both in a range of 1.5 to 10 timesthe distance between the third portion and the fifth surface and thedistance between the fourth portion and the sixth surface.
 11. The coilcomponent of claim 1, wherein when viewed from the direction of the coilaxis, the distance between the first portion of the winding portion andthe third surface is substantially same as the distance between thesecond portion of the winding portion and the fourth surface.
 12. Thecoil component of claim 1, wherein when viewed from the direction of thecoil axis, the distance between the third portion of the winding portionand the fifth surface is substantially same as the distance between thefourth portion of the winding portion and the sixth surface.
 13. Thecoil component of claim 1, wherein the winding portion has a uniformcross-sectional area.
 14. The coil component of claim 1, wherein thefirst external electrode is connected to one end of the winding portionvia a first lead-out portion extending along the coil axis.
 15. The coilcomponent of claim 1, wherein the second external electrode is connectedto the other end of the winding portion via a second lead-out portionextending along the coil axis.
 16. The coil component of claim 1,wherein a proportion of an area of the winding portion to an area of thefirst surface when viewed from the direction of the coil axis is 0.3 ormore.
 17. A DC-to-DC converter, comprising the coil component ofclaim
 1. 18. A coupled inductor comprising a base body made of amagnetic material and having a first surface that extends in a firstdirection and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction andhas a first dimension in the first direction larger than a seconddimension in the second direction, a second surface that faces the firstsurface, a third surface that connects an end of the first surface inthe first direction and an end of the second surface in the firstdirection, a fourth surface that faces the third surface, a fifthsurface that connects the third surface and the fourth surface, and asixth surface that faces the fifth surface; a first coil conductorhaving a first winding portion that extends around a coil axisintersecting the first surface and the second surface; a second coilconductor having a second winding portion that extends around the coilaxis; a first external electrode disposed on the base body and connectedto one end of the first coil conductor; and a second external electrodedisposed on the base body and connected to the other end of the firstcoil conductor, a third external electrode disposed on the base body andconnected to one end of the second coil conductor; and a fourth externalelectrode disposed on the base body and connected to the other end ofthe second coil conductor, wherein when viewed from a direction of thecoil axis, the first winding portion includes a first portion that facesthe third surface and is curved toward the third surface, a secondportion that faces the fourth surface and is curved toward the fourthsurface, a third portion that connects the first portion and the secondportion and faces the fifth surface, and a fourth portion that connectsthe first portion and the second portion and faces the sixth surface,wherein radii of curvature of the first portion and the second portionare both smaller than radii of curvature of the third portion and thefourth portion, wherein when viewed from the direction of the coil axis,a distance between the first portion and the third surface is largerthan a distance between the third portion and the fifth surface, whereinwhen viewed from a direction of the coil axis, the second windingportion includes a fifth portion that faces the third surface and iscurved toward the third surface, a sixth portion that faces the fourthsurface and is curved toward the fourth surface, a seventh portion thatconnects the fifth portion and the sixth portion and faces the fifthsurface, and a eighth portion that connects the fifth portion and thesixth portion and faces the sixth surface, wherein radii of curvature ofthe fifth portion and the sixth portion are both smaller than radii ofcurvature of the seventh portion and the eighth portion, wherein whenviewed from the direction of the coil axis, a distance between the fifthportion and the third surface is larger than a distance between theseventh portion and the fifth surface.